[1] It was originally bred by John Cripps at the Western Australia Department of Agriculture (Stoneville Research Station), by crossing the Australian apple Lady Williams with a Golden Delicious; the result is a combination of the firm, long-storing property of Lady Williams with the sweetness and lack of storage scald of Golden Delicious.

[2] Cripps Pink is owned and licensed by the Department of Agriculture and Food, Western Australia (DAFWA), which has plant breeders' rights in multiple countries.

[3][4] The peak industry body for Australian apple and pear growers – Apple and Pear Australia Limited (APAL) – owns and manages within their territory the intellectual property in the Pink Lady family of trade marks, which is registered in more than 80 territories.

[further explanation needed] The apple shape is ellipsoid, it has a distinctive blush mixed with a green "background", and taste is tart.

Several natural occurring mutations, called sports, of the Cripps Pink cultivar have been discovered and adopted into cultivation.